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Ajrak Printing
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Ajrak prints are an integral part of attire in the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch in Pakistan and India.
'Ajrak' may be etymologically derived from the Sanskrit word- jharat, from which a stable object was coined. The word ‘Ajrak’ may be a derivation of azrak, meaning indigo blue in Arabic. Sindh was traditionally a large producer of indigo and cotton cloth, to be exported around the world.
Ajrak has been an integral of the people of Sindh. All rituals associated with the life cycle and fertility- birth and marriage, are clad with the Ajrak- worn in different forms like turban, shawl, bed sheet and tablecloth. In the recycled format, it can be used as a hammock for a baby, cover for a bullock cart or as a backing to patchwork quilts. It is worn by people from all sections of the society, rich or poor. The
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difference is only in the quality of the fabric.
Nature plays an important role in the making of ajrak. The craftsmen work in total harmony with their environment, where the sun, river, animals, trees and mud are all part of its making.
Process
Ajrak is made by the craftsmen in total harmony with the elements of nature- sun, moon, river, animals, tree and mud.
The basic cloth material is washed in the river. This damp cloth is then put on steam, so as to open the pores of the cloth and make it softer. The fabric is then soaked in a mixture of camel dung, seed oil and water. The camel dung enables the cloth to get softer and acts as a bleaching agent. The cloth is then kept in air tight circumstances for 4-5 days. It is then dried and put through oil treatment, and it is ensured that the oil reaches to each and every pore of the cloth. After washing it in the river again, the cloth is then soaked again in a paste of Galls of Tamarisk, dried lemons, molasses, castor oil and water. The cloth is then bought for printing. The resist is made of rice paste, acacia gum and lime. The lime provides a smooth texture and prevents the resist from cracking and distinguishes the white outline of the design. The printer dips his block in the paste to print on one or both the sides of the cloth.
The black areas are then printed with a mixture of Ferrous Sulphate, Fuller's Earth, gum and water. In the next stage, a mud resist paste is printed on the areas that are to be protected against indigo dye, that is, the white, black and the portions that are to become red.
The white areas become clear when the cloth is washed for an hour to remove the excess gum and dye. After a couple of repeated round of dyeing, the thick, mud-encrusted cloth is folded and slowly lowered in the indigo vat for the second time. The Ajrak is then dried, rolled into a bundle and then taken to the river for the final wash. The printer folds the Ajrak while still damp and the weight presses them as they become dry.
The blocks are made out of Acacia trees and the block making process is the same as followed elsewhere.
The Ajrak print is employed within a grid, creating a web like or jaali pattern, because of the repetitive pattern. The border designs are employed vertically or horizontally to create a harmonious pattern on the ends.
This elaborate procedure facilitates selective dyeing with the aid of resists and an exploration of the potential permutations created through the reaction of the mordants with natural colors. Dyed and printed with vegetable and mineral colors, the properties of the cloth exceed the merely aesthetic; the colors of the Ajrak are believed to be such that they are cooling in the heat and warming in the cold.
Ajrak still remains an integral part of Sindh and the Rann of Gujarat.
Images sources from Google Search Engine, with the term 'Ajrak' |
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